Holy Land
The Holy Land (Latin: Terra Sancta) is a theocratic state in the Middle East, located near to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Government
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Form of government
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Composition of government
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History
Establishment
The Holy Land was first established in the form of the Catholic Theocracy of Israel (Latin: Theocratia Catholica Israelis). The Theocracy of Israel was founded as a town by Quarox, who was then a priest, on the 26th of March 2023. The reason for the foundation of this theocracy was a visit he made to Jerusalem: disappointed by the infidelity and unbelief that the young priest had to witness during his pilgrimage, he considered himself responsible to take action for the sake of his faith. In order to bring the government of Israel back to sanity, the cleric made an attempt to contact them by letter, explaining the issue and, despite the unfavorable imbalance of power between the insignificant priest and the fully grown nation in the Middle East, did not hesitate to state a warning about consequences if the government would not stop dishonoring the Holy Land. After the attempt to contact failed and the priest was mocked by propaganda posters additionally displayed in the streets of Jerusalem, Quarox appealed to the Holy See with a letter requesting authorization to establish the Catholic Theocracy of Israel in order to purify the Holy Land from the heresies he witnessed. Clement XV, Pope of that time, approved the establishment and at the same time elevated him to the episcopate on the 13th of March 2023. From that moment on, Quarox took over the ecclesiastical supervision over the Diocese of Israel as bishop. Due to the growth of this diocese, Pope Clement XV elevated it to the rank of Archdiocese of Jerusalem on the 6th of May 2023. The establishment of the Theocracy was solemnly promulgated in the Declaration of the Establishment of the Catholic Theocracy of Israel.
An excerpt from the document states:
"[...] In the context of their refusal to our request, to remove the propaganda of sodomy as well as the blasphemous visual amusements about Jesus Christ from their territory, we are compelled by our conscience to take fundamental and total countermeasures. Not only that they did not show any understanding for our accommodating request, much more these enemies of God intensified their sodomite propaganda and informed us about it, in a very mocking manner. Our littleness can bear much mockery for the sake of the one, who was humiliated, dishonored and crucified for our sake, but if we should see that at least a single heretic dares to harm even one hair of our beloved Lord, we are ready to raise against legions at the cost of our blood [...]"
Towards the end it states:
"[...] Not acting on our own judgment, but strengthened in the name of the unshakable authority of His Holiness, Clement XV., Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Holder of the Holy Roman See, whose loyal servants we are, and in view of the above explained diabolical behavior of the government of so-called Israel towards the most holy God and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose slaves we want to be forever, we officially declare and proclaim; I.) the outrageous claim of these infidels to identify themselves as Israel null and void, II.) the establishment of the Catholic Theocracy of Israel under the rule of Jesus Christ."
Independence
De facto, since its foundation, the Holy Land considered itself independent of other political entities, whereby as a theocratic Catholic state, it viewed itself solely responsible to the Holy See. Consequently, the process of independence that the Holy Land went through is to be understood in this context as a de jure phenomenon.
A few weeks after the establishment of the Theocracy, the government of the Holy Land decided to undertake a search for a neighboring nation to temporarily enter into a mutually beneficial unity. On the basis of successful diplomacy, the Theocracy chose in favor of joining the nation of Kushan.
Coats of arms
Archdiocese of Jerusalem
Theocracy of Israel
Holy Land
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Expansion
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External Political Alliances
Holy Roman Empire
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Israel
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External Political Conflicts
Israel
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Caspian
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Persian Empire
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Antioche
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Architecture
The architecture of the Holy Land is mostly inspired by the so-called historicism, in the context of art history, a common phenomenon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during which architects and artists preferred to use architectural designs from previous centuries. The chief architect of the Holy Land is the Abbot TheBetterHand, who, inspired by the desire to express the beauty of God not only in the liturgy, but also in architecture, is responsible for the construction of the majority of Holy Lands architecture.
Saint James the Less Cathedral Basilica
Purpose
The Saint James the Less Cathedral Basilica (Latin: Ecclesia Cathedralis Basilicae Sancti Iacobi Fratris Domini) contains the See of the Archbishop of Jerusalem and therefore represents the spiritual and ecclesiastical center of the Archdiocese of Jerusalem. As the principal and mother church of the archdiocese, it is the place from which the local Archbishop exercises the duties of evangelization, liturgical service and pastoral supervision related with his office.
Construction
The construction of the cathedral was completed in April 2023. It is constructed according to the model of the real-life existing St. Peter's Church (located in Jaffa, Tel Aviv District, Israel) in the style of New Spanish Baroque. In August 2023, a Benedictine chapel was added to the left wing of the cathedral. This was supposed to symbolize, appreciate and honor the importance and impact of the Benedictine order for the Holy Land. In December 2023, a cemetery was completed on the left outside of the cathedral where memorials and graves are placed to honor and remember notable figures of the past, which had essential impact on the Holy Land: Among others, Canonicus Hononarius Diaconus NoSurfZone for his contribution to the construction of the city (May-December 2023), Monsignor Canonicus Hillsgolf for his great financial support (March-September 2023) and Pater Justice for his self-sacrificial military service (March-June 2023).
The cathedral has in total eight altars and has a traditional ad orientem direction. It contains a high altar, six side altars and one altar in the Benedictine chapel. The high altar is consecrated to St. James the Less (also known as James, brother of the Lord), thus the name of the cathedral. He was one of the Apostles and according to early Christian tradition first Bishop of Jerusalem. Four of the six side altars are dedicated to important saints from each of the four eastern patriarchates of the ancient church pentarchy: [1] John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople. [2] Ignatius, Patriarch of Antioch. [3] Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria. [4] Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The four patriarchal side altars are positioned in the cathedral according to the direction of the respective geographical location of the four patriarchal seats. The two other side altars are dedicated to two important figures of the Catholic faith: One is dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, while the other is dedicated to the first Roman Pope, St. Peter the Apostle. The altar in the chapel is dedicated to the father and founder of the Benedictine order, St. Benedict.
Consecration and Honors
The cathedral was personally consecrated by Pope Clement XV in April 2023 as part of the Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In June 2023, Pope Clement XV granted the cathedral the honorary title of a basilica.
Coat of Arms
The cathedral has a characteristic coat of arms for a basilica with the so-called umbraculum. The coat of arms depicts two angels venerating the eucharistic host with the inscription JHS (Latin: Jesus Hierosolymae Salvator, 'Jesus, Saviour of Jerusalem') in a monstrance. The depicted saw serves as symbol for St. James the Less: It represents the method of his martyrdom. The Jerusalem cross is placed on the lower half.
Gallery
St. James Cathedral Coat of Arms
frontside view, Central Square
inside view, St. James Cathedral
inside view, St. James Cathedral Basilica
inside view, St. James Cathedral Basilica
inside view, St. James Cathedral
inside view, St. James Cathedral
inside view, St. James Cathedral Basilica
inside view, Benedictine Chapel
inside view, Benedictine Chapel
outside view, St. James Cemetery
outside view, St. James Cemetery
outside view, St. James Cemetery
outside view, St. James Cemetery
outside view, St. James Cemetery
frontside view, Central Square
Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
Purpose
The crypt, also known as the under-church, is a place used for liturgical purposes and for storing the tombs of saints, relic shrines, altars and other valuable objects of sacred origin. According to early Christian custom, the crypt originally contained the relics of a martyr. Based on this and with reference to the early Christian prayer Te Deum, the crypt of the Cathedral of St. James was named the Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs (Latin: Crypta Nobilis Martyrum Exercitus).
Construction
As is usual for crypts, it is located under the altar room and has a curved roof with a large number of pillars. The entrance to the crypt is located at the left outside of the cathedral in the cemetery. It contains an altar dedicated to the Noble Army of Martyrs, a statue of St. Mary, a statue of St. Joseph and statues in the sanctuary depicting the martyrs. Among these martyrs are saints who shed their blood for Christ on the ground of the Holy Land, including the Holy Innocents, St. Stephanus, St. John the Baptist, St. James the Less, St. James the Great, St. Simeon of Jerusalem and St. Alexander of Jerusalem. The exact year of construction has not been preserved to the present day.
Gallery
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
inside view, Crypt of the Noble Army of Martyrs
Cathedral Chapter
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Archiepiscopal Residence
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